Mon., Mar. 12, 2018
12:00 AM MDTClubs may negotiate with unrestricted free agentsMarch 12-14: Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2017 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 14. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 14.

Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must exercise options for 2018 on all players who have option clauses in their 2017 contracts.

Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit qualifying offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation.

Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit a minimum salary tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2017 contracts who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit.

Top 51 begins. All clubs must be under the 2018 salary cap prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time.

All 2017 player contracts will expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

The 2018 league year and free agency period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

The first day of the 2018 league year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 14. Clubs will receive a personnel notice that will include all transactions submitted to the league office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 14.

The first day of the 2018 league year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 14. Clubs will receive a personnel notice that will include all transactions submitted to the league office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 14.

Trading period for 2018 begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2017 contracts.

Williams Too Good to Pass Up

The Broncos had an opportunity to trade away the 28th pick, but with Sylvester Williams available, the team knew it needed to make the selection.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- This year's draft was almost a repeat of last season's event.

Holding onto a late first-round pick, the Broncos had an opportunity to trade back and accumulate extra assets for the second consecutive draft. But the player in front of them was too good to pass up.

“Once Sylvester (Williams) was there we said, ‘No, this is the guy we want, we're going to stay here,'" Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway said. "We did have an option to go back, but we didn’t want to. We were thrilled that Sylvester was there and we didn’t want to move.”

In fact, the Broncos entertained the idea of moving up in the draft to grab their coveted defensive tackle. But as the first round played out, "it started to look like we were going to get a pretty darn good football player at 28," Elway said.

What the Broncos got was a defensive tackle that excelled at bursting into opponents' backfields as a senior in 2012. According to ESPN Stats and Info, he led all defensive tackles in automatic-qualifier BCS conferences with 25 quarterback pressures. He finished his senior campaign at North Carolina with 13.5 tackles for loss, part of a career that included 20.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

"He’s got all the physical tools that you hope carries over to production," Head Coach John Fox said.

The club even invited Williams to Dove Valley for a pre-draft visit, and came away even more impressed.

"This kid was great at the Senior Bowl," Fox said. "We had some coaches that coached him there at that setting. He took a leadership role right away during that week in preparation. So not only was he an excellent athlete in a need position, a position we have been looking for, for a while now, he’s a fine young man.”

That type of size is what Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio looks for in his defensive tackles, and Fox said it's "fair to say that he was very excited."

In preparing for the draft with numerous mocks, Elway said Williams never made it past Minnesota's two first-round picks to get to the Broncos. So when the draft played out as it did, the team was understandably ecstatic.

"You never know these rounds are going to fall, but we were extremely pleased that he was there when we got there," Elway said. "We had him very high on our board, so we were thrilled to get him.”

As for day two of the draft, the Broncos are comfortable with where they stand -- holding onto the 58th and 90th overall selections.

“We are looking forward to it," Elway said. "We feel good about where the board is. It’s about being patient. We’ll have to see -- again, we are going to stick to the same philosophy we have been and that is to get the best player we can when we get to the second and third pick.